7th grade boys basketball team preview

For the last three seasons, the 7th grade boys have ended the year (4-4). For two straight seasons, they've been eliminated in the playoffs.

So the question mark that surrounds them is will this year be any different.

The most notable difference or similarity is that they will have a new head coach for the fifth straight year. In the coaching carousel, James Chiu has assumed the position of head coach, and perhaps a coach with a winning track record could be the one to get this team over the hump.

"I have high expectations for this team," James said. "They have the potential to make it far in this division, but they need to focus and work as a team to accomplish anything."

There's the word, potential, which has dangled over them every year from 3rd grade until now. They've always had the talent and have shown glimpses of putting it together, but never on a consistent basis.

Their best win as a team came in the first regular season game a year ago when they rallied from a 8 point deficit to win the game.

But then there are the hiccups, losing to teams that didn't even make the playoffs.

Which team will show up?

As James points out, it all starts with practice. The boys are a little bit more mature now, but still tend to goof around during practice. The fooling around, the bickering, the who gets to be first in line, all needs to be stopped if they want to seriously contend.

On the court so far, Justin has shown great ability finding his open teammates. His passing as a point guard in the last few years needed work, and it looks so far so good as he and Daniel have connected several times already this year.

Daniel is not the biggest 7th grader by any measure, but he rebounds like he is the biggest 7th grader. He's tough and is willing to pay the price down low to get the ball. He is going to get numerous opportunities around the hoop, and he'll need to finish.

Team chemistry will also be tested as they welcome two new players to the team, Christian and James, Gavy's little brother.

Christian had his breakout game in the final game of the tournament scoring 12 points and looks to be a huge addition to the squad. But he'll need seasoning and experience to limit his mistakes.

"He needs some more work in areas like his body control for shots and positioning on defense, but that will come through proper practice and hard work," James said.

Working together as a team is more important for this team than others because of the individual talents each player has. If they can, they are definitely going to be a dangerous team in their division.

"I expect the team to play their best at every game," said assistant coach Clarissa Lee, who is now in her third year with the team.

"They all must want to win it and they need to communicate as a team better in order to have a successful season."